Thread: Japanese naturals vs strops & lapping film

Hi all, new guy Anyway, I have a chromium oxide leather strop, 0.3 micron aluminum oxide lapping film, and about 4 dozen carats of 0.25 micron diamond powder, as well as an online shopping cart with 0.5 & 0.1 diamond lapping film in it

Anyway, I was wondering if it is worth it to get a Japanese natural hone to follow my King 8K or Chinese 12K, or should I stick with what I've got (or got coming). I rely on edge trailing strokes now, so as not to cut the leather or film, and thought the stone would be a nice change.

From what I can find online, it looks like I would be looking for Asagi, Kiita, maybe Karasu, to beat out 30K. My per stone budget is ~$200 What's the consistency in grit? That's the biggest factor in determining if I'm going to order one online.

What you have you can definately work with. If you were going to buy a stone, the only one I would buy is a Nakayama from Old School here. You may need to save up a bit more but it's the only on worth buying imo.

As stated your already set up for what you need.

However, depending you how you feel about stones and grit may have alot more to do with what you want. When you start looking at natural stones, forget about grit size as they are a natural mix of sizes.
It's a hard thing to let go of at times but once you are ready to forget about grit size you will be ready to accept natural hones.

For kitchen knives I have no problem with synthetics, but my razors I find I really want that organic feel to the system. So I'm weining my blades off the sythetics as I replace them. Now I just need 2 more stones and I will have a working system.

You don't need a Japanese natural, unless you really WANT one

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

As stated your already set up for what you need.

However, depending you how you feel about stones and grit may have alot more to do with what you want. When you start looking at natural stones, forget about grit size as they are a natural mix of sizes.
It's a hard thing to let go of at times but once you are ready to forget about grit size you will be ready to accept natural hones.

For kitchen knives I have no problem with synthetics, but my razors I find I really want that organic feel to the system. So I'm weining my blades off the sythetics as I replace them. Now I just need 2 more stones and I will have a working system.

You don't need a Japanese natural, unless you really WANT one

or 6, or 8...

Originally Posted by DwarvenChef

However, depending you how you feel about stones and grit may have alot more to do with what you want. When you start looking at natural stones, forget about grit size as they are a natural mix of sizes.
It's a hard thing to let go of at times but once you are ready to forget about grit size you will be ready to accept natural hones.

Yeah, I'm not too worried about a hard and fast micron measurement of the particles, as they break down during use, I've read. Mainly, I just want to make sure the stone would be make an advancement in scratch pattern refinement. Like, I know I wouldn't go from the 8K to the 4K stone because it will make the finish rougher.

I have read that the stones, being natural, are not guaranteed to be 100% consistent in results. I would just like to know if the range of variation with a kiita or green nakayama (asagi?) typically will not be a step backward after the King 8K or Chinese 12K, but should work in place of the crox at least. If I end up with a 40K+, awesome, I just don't want to end up with a 9K at ten times the price of my strop

The seller should be able to supply you with what you want. If you want 30k+ results that should be easy with an Asagi & well in your price range.
Kiita would be more expensive.

Welcome to SRP. Here is an archived post that may be a useful read for you. IMO, if you are getting stellar results from what you're using now buying a Japanese natural will bring you into the realm of honing for sport and enjoyment as much as for utility. Nothing wrong with that at all..... that is my bag too.

I am very happy with mine. That said, its very very very much a case of diminishing marginal returns. You have to decide whether the small gain is worth the big price tag. And I've found that for some reason, my Thuringen sometimes finishes better than the J-nat (I have a nakayama) but not always. So its not that it's a finer grit- just different. Thats all I can say for sure.

If you have the money for it, a nice fine natural is definitely worth it. But, you have to love natural stones, because a Nakayama, per se, isn't the cheapest of stones. But a nice one will give you a superb finish on a razor. I got mine from OLD_SCHOOL here, and am planning on getting another.

By the way, I wasn't joking about really loving natural stones. Read this thread if you don't believe me. http://straightrazorpalace.com/basic...-nakayama.html